In Hot Water
by RockSunner
Summary: What will happen when Hot Dog Water finds out that Velma is suddenly leaving town? Implied Velmarcie. Spoilers up to the end of SDMI.


What will happen when Hot Dog Water finds out that Velma is suddenly leaving town? Implied Velmarcie. All characters belong to Warner Brothers, not me.

**In Hot Water**

Velma was in the back of the Mystery Machine chatting happily with the gang when her cell phone rang. She answered it.

"Velma, this is Marcie. I just heard a weird rumor. Someone thought they saw you and a bunch of others take off in a van painted with flower designs. What's going on?"

"It's true... and really hard to explain. I'm leaving town with some friends. I was going to call you," said Velma. "I won't be able to do the Tri-state Olympiad of Science."

"Are the others Fred Chiles, Daphne Blake, and Norville Rogers?" asked Marcie.

"Yes," said Velma.

"Ron't forget me!" called Scooby-Doo from the background.

"And Scooby-Doo, the Rogers' dog," said Velma.

"I can see Fred and Daphne eloping to get away from whatever huge wedding their parents are putting together, but why would you and Norville go along? Unless..."

"It's not what you think," said Velma.

"What do you see in him? I know he's a great chef, but there's more to life than food," said Marcie.

"Shaggy Rogers and I are not a couple," said Velma.

"You have a pet name for him? What's been going on behind my back? Shaggy as in what?" said Marcie.

"Nothing. The nickname's about his shaggy hair," said Velma.

"There's something you're not telling me. I think you've been cheating on me and you're dumping me over the phone. You two-timing... I'm going to track you down – don't think I can't. You deserve some hurting for what you did to me," said Marcie.

"The truth is too crazy and I can't expect you to believe it," said Velma.

"Try me," said Marcie.

"Remember when I suddenly said that about Schrödinger's cat?" asked Velma.

"Yes," said Marcie.

"There really are parallel worlds. And I'm not from this one. Things used to be different, and the five of us changed the past," said Velma.

"That's absurd. What were you supposedly doing that changed the world?" asked Marcie.

"We fought and destroyed an ancient evil that has been warping the lives of everyone in Crystal Cove since long before we were born. When we destroyed it all that came undone," said Velma.

"Does everyone in the car back this story?" asked Marcie. "Put someone else on."

Velma passed the phone to Daphne. "It's all true, Marcie," Daphne told her. "Here's Fred."

"Hot Dog Water, this is Fred. Everything Velma said is true."

"You dumb jock, I haven't been called such a rude name since elementary school!" Marcie fumed.

Velma took the phone back. "Sorry about that, Marcie. In the other time-line, everybody called you that and I guess you were used to it. I didn't... at least after we became friends."

"That's too bizarre to make up. So either you've all gone insane, or.. or there really is something to this parallel world deal. Occam's razor says to test the simplest explanation first. It's not the most logical one, but all right, I'll entertain the hypothesis," said Marcie.

"Good," said Velma.

"Tell me more about the four of you," said Marcie.

"The five, counting Scooby. We solved mysteries together," said Velma.

"Like a book club? You read mystery books and tried to guess the solutions?" asked Marcie.

"No. It happened all the time that people dressed up in monster costumes and committed crimes. We investigated and unmasked them," said Velma.

"I've heard of robbers putting on monster masks to rob a bank, but that's not what you mean, is it?" asked Marcie.

"No, full-out monster impersonations, complete with whatever powers they could cobble together with technology," said Velma.

"That happened around here? A lot?" asked Marcie.

"We think now it was the influence of the evil entity under Crystal Cove," said Velma.

"Weird. I would never do anything like that, no matter what tried to influence me," said Marcie.

"You did. Twice," said Velma. "Once as a manticore and once as a devil woman. Does your father own an amusement park?"

"He used to," said Marcie. "I persuaded him to shut it down and I used the scrap metal to make super-helium, which I sold for a lot of money. The old you would know that."

"The old you didn't think of persuasion. You tried to force the place to shut down by making it look like it was haunted by a manticore," said Velma. "The super-helium was used to make a flying costume which you used to kidnap people."

"So we have entirely different memories of each other. I was a criminal?" asked Marcie sadly.

"You reformed, and we became friends," said Velma. "In the end you sacrificed your life to buy us time to get to the evil entity."

"I would sacrifice myself for you, if it ever came to that, Velma," said Marcie.

"I know," said Velma.

"Is there any way to get the other you back?" asked Marcie.

"Not that I know of. This whole time-line only exists because of the changes we made. We just didn't get changed memories along with everyone else," said Velma.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Marcie.

"Mysteries are our life, and the only lead we have to more of them is Harlan Ellison at Miskatonic University. He remembers the change too. It's our only hope for something like the life we knew."

"You could stay. Life here wouldn't be so bad," said Marcie.

"There are good lives there, but they aren't our lives," said Velma.

"I'm going to Miskatonic University too, then," said Marcie. "I'm smart enough to get into any college, and I can afford the tuition."

"It may not work," said Velma. "I'm not the same person."

"I'm gambling you're close enough," said Marcie.

"We're taking a long road trip, seeing if we can stir up any mysteries along the way," said Velma.

"I'll be there at Miskatonic waiting for you," said Marcie.

"All right," said Velma. "I'll look forward to that."


End file.
